Jon Stewart: The NRA has us at the intersection of ‘open carry’ and ‘stand your ground’

Daily Show host Jon Stewart observed on Thursday that despite their brief rift, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and groups like Open Carry Texas had created a “perpetual violence machine.”

“We are at the intersection of Open Carry Road and ‘Stand Your Ground’ Place,” Stewart said. “So what the f*ck are we supposed to do now? According to the NRA’s basic principles, you have a right to carry a weapon that may cause a reasonable person to believe they are in danger of great bodily injury. And they have a right, if they feel that way, to respond with deadly force. It’s a perpetual violence machine. It’s ‘Gunfight at the Golden Corral.'”

Just then, he came to a realization.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “This isn’t an argument about freedom at all, is it? This whole f*cking thing’s a business plan for arms dealers. Son of a b*tch.”

Revisiting a point he made last month, Stewart pointed out that, though Open Carry “gun nuts” insist on portraying themselves as “good guys with guns” with their public displays at restaurants and convenience stores, “members of the National Everybody Else Association” have no way of knowing their intentions.

“[As if] working the overnight at 7-Eleven isn’t already sh*tty enough, somewhere between emptying out whatever it is that coagulates under the rolling hot dog tray and carding smokers, now you gotta deal with an AK-carrying, constitutional absolutist performance artist in a trilby,” Stewart said. “Which is a hat that somehow combines the douchiest parts of a fedora and a porkpie.”

Stewart said he was surprised that the NRA issued a statement calling Open Carry Texas’ actions “downright weird” — until retracting it under the threat of losing members.

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt